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The great naval review at Spithead, in presence of the Queen, took place on Thursday, under bright skies and most gentle breezes—altogether "the Queen's own weather." The display of real force was greater than in any fleet we have ever mustered on the shores of England. The following table shows the number and power of the vessels.

Guns. Men. Horse-power. Tonnage.

Duke of Wellington, screw, Captain IL B. Martin, C.B., bearing the flag of the Commander-in-chief, Vice- Admiral Sir T. J. Cochrane, K.C.B. Agamemnon, screw, Captain Sir Tho- mas Maitland, C.B., bearing the flag

of Rear-Admiral Curry Queen, Captain Michell Prince Regent, Captain Hutton London, Captain Eden Blenheim, screw, Captain Henderson, C.B Hogue, screw, Captain W. Ramsay._ Ajax, screw, Captain Quin Edinburgh, screw, gunnery-ship, ten- der to Excellent, Captain R. S. 131 1100

91 820

550 113 970

— 90 820

— 90 820

— 60 500

450 60 500

450 58 250

450 3760 3074 3083 2613 2598 1474 1750 1761 Valorous, paddle, Captain C. H. M Buckle Odin, paddle, Captain Francis Scott Encounter, screw, Captain O'Cal- laghan Leopard, paddle, Captain George Gif- ford

Desperate, screw, Captain Chambers Vulture, paddle, Captain F. II. Glasse Vesuvius, paddle, Commander Wilson The dynamics of the force are brought out strongly in a concise de- scription by the Times- " There were no less than 1076 guns, the smallest 32-pounders, and as large as the largest used in the great sea-fights by which our ancestors won the sovereignty of the seas. The largest throw 84-pound shells, which would be 104-pounders if solid shot were used ; and the frightful destructiveness of these missiles may be imagined, exploding on concussion according to Captain Moorsom's recent invention. I he great feature, however of the Armament of the present fleet is its 68-pounders; which produced when fired a prodigious effect both upon the imagination and the tympanum of all who witnessed the review. * * * There were employed 1076 guns, the power of 9680 horses, (nominally, but in reality nearly double that amount,) 40,207 tons of shipping, and the ships' companies that should altogether have amounted to 10,423 hands, although the actual numbers probably fell short of that by 1000. The fleet thus comprised about the same num- ber of men as are encamped at Chobham ; only that, instead of being distributed in tents stretching over two miles of heath, they were cooped up in twenty-five ships-of-war, thirteen of which are screw steamers, nine paddle-wheel, and three sailing-ships of the line. The total steam- power employed, being stated at about half it actual value, probably repre- sents a larger horse-power than all the cavalry regiments in the service put together ; and when the nature of this modern agent is considered, and its adaptability for the purposes of naval warfare, the contrast which it illus- trates becomes still more formidable. a * * Thus, by its floating batteries of the heaviest description, and by the power of steam to move them rapidly into any position that may be required, the British Navy has now become the grandest concentration of force for destructive purposes that can well be conceived."

Barracouta, paddle, Commander Par- ker Hewlett Imperleuse, screw, Captain Watson Arrogant, screw, Captain Fremantle, Amphion, screw, Captain A. C. Key Tribune, screw, Captain lion. S. T. Carnegie Sidon, paddle, Captain Goldsmith Terrible, paddle, Captain M'Cleverty Highflyer, screw, Captain Moore Magieienne, paddle, Captain T. Fi-her 58 200 • • • • 350 51 586 • • • . 350 46 450 • • • • 360 31 300 • • • • 300 30 — • . • • 300 22 300 • • • • 560 21 300 .• • • 800 21 230 • • • • 250 16 200 • • • • 400 16 300

400 16 270

500 14 175

360 12 240

560 8 172

400 6 21)0

470 6 160

280

160 ....

300 1772 2146 1876 1474 1054 1328 1847 1153 1255 1255 1310 908 1412 1100 1192 976 1048 For two or three days Southampton and Portsmouth had been gradually filling ; and on Wednesday evening so numerous were the ar- rivals, poured in by railway, from every quarter and of every class, that sleeping accommodation grew inconveniently dear and scanty : some persons slept on floors, some on chairs, some in dog-holes, and many did not sleep at all. The Queen had come down from London, and was staying at Osborne.

Early on Thursday morning, the waters of the Solent began to be dotted with craft of all kinds—cutters, schooners, dandy yachts, smart steamers, pilot-boats, row-boats. The great fleet of twenty-five ships lay quietly at their moorings; while on shore all was burry and turmoil, everybody anxious and fearful lest Jr/ek Tar should weigh and be off without the benefit of their presence. By eight o'clock the fleet unmoored and hove short ; and lay belching puffs of white steam over the shining waters. Shoals of sailing craft and fleets of steamers now appeared scudding and fuming hither and thither, between and around the noble ships, and forming themselves a lively spectacle. About nine o'clock, the Black Eagle Admiralty yacht, with " my Lords" on board, arrived ; and soon after, the Stromboli bearing the Peers, the Bulldog bearing the Com- mons, the Fairy with the Prince of Prussia and the Russian Princesses on board, the Gorgon set apart for the press, and other ships accommo- dating naval and official persons. By this time the coast was, in all its undulations and at every point of view, literally swarming with people.

Soon after ten o'clock, the report flew among the crowd, that the flag at Osborne was down ; and shortly afterwards the Victoria and Albert, bear- ing the Queen and the Prince Consort, with some of the Royal children, was seen steaming smartly through the crowded sea ; anon she was visible between the leeward ships of the fleet, bearing straight down to the Duke of Wellington. At this moment the signal to fire the royal salute was hoisted on board the mighty flag-ship, and the effect of the combined roar of the great ships was overpowering to the senses. In the wake of the Royal yacht came bounding on the Vivid and the Elfin and the Fairy. As the Queen passed the Prussian frigate Gefion, it dressed yards and fired a salute. The Victoria and Albert then steamed slowly round the Duke of Wellington ; the Prince of Prussia and the Russian ladies left the Fairy for the Queen's yacht ; the barge of the latter was lowered, and the Queen, leading a brilliant company, ascended the tall sides of Admiral Coch- rane's flag-ship, and was shortly afterwards visible on the stern-gallery. She remained some time on board, then returned to the Victoria and Al- bert, and the great spectacle of the day fairly began.

The command to weigh was given ; and, gradually assuming the follow- ing order, escorted by innumerable private steamers and yachts, the fleet put to sea. The Queen led the way ; the Victoria and Albert taking its position between the two divisions of the fleet, but slightly in advance,

.Port or .Lee Division. 'Starboard or Weather Division.

i Agamemnon, t Duke of Wellington, sa' Alij5Pgartie", -.5 Blenheim,

,%* Edinburgh, ..

...E1434 Arrogants . Imperieuse, en .'-'. E so Tribune, Si Highfiyer. :F: g to Desperate, ,Si Odin, Vesuvius, El Terrible. In thisorder, slowly and majestically the two divisions glided down to

os the Nab. So perfectly was the whole pageant executed, that the signals of the leading ship regulated the speed with precision, ordering them to go two, three, or four knots an hour, from time to time ; and soon the thousands collected on the cliffs of the Isle of Wight lost sight of the squadron.

-^. Encounter, Q. Leopard, r Sidon, ts Valorous,

A few miles below the Nab, the signal was given to form line abreast, at cable-length. This evolution was magnificently performed in twenty minutes. The Duke of Wellington and the Agamemnon stopped short, while the block-shipi came up with more difficulty. The re- spective divisions went right and left, forming a line nearly three miles long. Suddenly the Royal yacht signalled "three strange sail in the South-east " ; whereupon the Admiral ordered the ships to take course

together South-west. Looming in the of were visible the forms of three sailing line-of-battle ships. They were the enemy," under Admi- ral Fanshawe; consisting of the Prince Regent, the London, the Queen, and the steamers Anaphion, Barracouta, Driver, and Vulture. At this moment the Bulldog and Stromboli with their cargo of Members ran be- fore the line, and got between the two fleets. Firing one or two shots of defiance, the enemy at length came within range. " Then the fleet opened their broadsides upon them ; and the cannonade, taken up from ship to ship, spread along the line with an energy and ra- pidity quite astounding while it lasted ; and, a fine fresh sea-breeze rolling away the immense volumes of smoke to leeward, enabled the spectators al- most uninterruptedly to mark the splendour of the spectacle. The deep bass of the sixty-eight and eighty-four pounders, chiming in at intervals with the sharper roar of the lighter guns, could be readily distinguished ; and the observer could even note bow these tremendous engines of destruction hurled forth a more projected and larger mass of flame and smoke into the wind's eye. Along the whole line of battle, nearly three miles long, the cannonading-was kept up for many minutes with a fury which it is quite impossible to convey any idea of in words." 'The enemy had replied vigorously at the outset to the fire of the fleet, and this was sustained for some time; but at last the Prince Regent, the Queen, and London, began to slacken their fire. When the firing had ceased and the great war-cloud' formed by it had swept completely away, the signal was given to 'chase to the South' ' • and in this direction the whole fleet proceeded at full steaming speed. The movement was only con- tinued long enough to make a fair display of the superiority of the Im- perieuse' the Agamemnon, and the Duke of Wellington screws. These would have beaten all the rest of the fleet, and seem to establiah the in- feriority of the paddle-wheel construction to their own, not only for fight- ing but even for speed." Of course the result of such an action could not be for a moment doubt- ful : " the enemy " struck ; came up sailing slowly, and joined the fleet. Then the signal was given to return to Spithead; each ship being per- mitted to race home at the top of her speed. It was an exciting race. For a time the Great Duke kept the lead, but at length was passed by the Agamemnon. Last of all came the sailing-ships; whose inferiority as engines of war was felt by all, but whose beauty made many almost re- gret the invention of steam. The Royal yacht came up in good time. This was the grand net of the day's spectacle.

The concluding one was of a minor but scarcely less exciting kind. The two repeating steamers, Magicienne and Vulture, were attacked by the gun- boats of the fleet, off South Sea beach. The boats were manned and launched with astonishing rapidity. They bore down on the ships in two divisions ; followed by the Royal yacht and a crowd of boats of all kinds. One division attacked the stem, the other the stern, of the men of war. There was a great deal of firing on both sides, and at length the victory of the boats was announced by a tremendous cheer. This was the finale. The scene at the close is thus described-

" As the wind slowly rolled the clouds to leeward of the flotilla, bringing into view boat after boat and the hulls of the steamers, the coup-d'eeil was one which no language can convey, for it was instinct with motion, teem- ing with energetic life. The boats were returning to their respective ships, from which the signal of recall had been hoisted, or with oars aloft were lying-to off the late enemy' ; on the white beach at Southsea, as far as the eye could reach, thousands of people were gathered in full enjoyment of the spectacle; every mound—every hillock—the ramparts of the fortifications, the tops of houses—any and every place, in fact, from which a view of it- head could be had, were black with a swarm of human beings. On the o er side, with the aid of a glass, it could be perceived that the whole population had poured down to the shores of the Isle of Wight, and the pier at Ityde and the hills towards the sea-side were covered with men, women, and chil- dren. Everything that could float and move by sail or oar—and wonderful it was to see occasionally what feats, contrary to all appearances, were per- formed in this way—collected from all parts of the neighbouring shores, was on the waters flitting about, so as to shut out the face of the waves, be- neath a shifting veil of rope and wood and canvass. The Royal yacht, beset with them like a queen-bee by its loving subjects, floated tranquilly, the centre of innumerable lorgnettes and prying eyes. At intervals some very dirty and very loyal steamer came waddling along close to the Victoria and Albert, and discharged a volley of hearty cheers from its living cargo as the well-known form of their Sovereign was seen on the deck of her float- ing palace ; and gentlemanly yachts veiled their topsails as they came near, and ungentlemanly ones stood too close in and became objects of universal abhorrence, for the time being, to many thousands of people. Far away to the East a thick black background of coal smoke, left behind by the steamers, rested on the horizon, and brought out in fine relief the snowy. canvass of the hundreds of yachts which were stealing up to their moorings. The slower steamers and men-of-war, with company on board, came hustling through them, each with a long dark trail in the air behind it; and in the centre of the pictur_ ,e Admiral Fanshawe's squadron, with every stitch of canvass that could be set, except studding-sails, bore down majestically in line between the port and starboard divisions of its late assailants, towering above the pigmy craft as the pillars of some ruined Eastern temple over the Arab tenth at their base. No other country ever exhibited a spectacle so grand and so impressive. It was a great Peace Congress, headed by the Queen."